Author's Note

I'm sorry I've had this story on hiatus for so long. I was only gonna leave it on hiatus for a short time and then some things happened in my personal life that caused this hiatus to be almost a year long. I'm trying to get back into writing again but it's taking some time.

I had an idea for this fic that might make it a little more interesting though because I really had no idea where to go with the story after the previous chapter. I don't want to rush it but I also don't want it to drag on because it'll become boring to read and I don't want that. I've decided to just have Buster meet up with his homies at the saloon and engage in some poker-fueled tomfoolery.

I'll quit rambling now and just write the dang chapter. I appreciate y'all.

-AP

Familiar Faces

Buster awoke to the sound of knocking on his door.

Cherry's voice could be heard from the other side, "Get on up, Buster, it's time to get back to work."

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Too long," Cherry sounded pretty disgruntled.

"Oh, heck, I'm sorry. What do you need my help with? I'll get on it right away!" Buster jumped out of bed and threw his gear on. He had never overslept before. A combination of shame and embarrassment washed over him.

"I took care of most of the cherry pickin' while you was restin' but I'm gonna need your help getting these buckets into the cart and getting the tarp over it. Let's go," Cherry turned and trotted out.

The door flung open and Buster cantered out to catch up to her. He jokingly asked, "Why'd you let me sleep so long?"

"You seemed like you needed the rest. I'm also still getting used to the fact that I ain't gotta do all this by myself anymore. When it got too much for me to handle, that's when I finally admitted defeat and went to go get you," she explained.

"Well, hey, I'm here to help. That's why you hired me. I ain't tryna take advantage of your hospitality," Buster felt guilty.

"Don't worry about it. That being said though, I don't want you make a habit o' that either," Cherry said sternly.

"You got it, boss lady," he had received her message loud and clear.

The two of them made it to the cart where the buckets of cherries sat waiting to be dumped. Cherry dropped the ramp and then Buster helped her lift the buckets up into the cart and dump them. When they were dumped into the cart, she then directed him to the trees she had not picked cherries from yet.

"I need you to shake up them trees. I took out bout half the orchard myself but I'm exhausted. I can't do anymore. I let you sleep as long as I could but while there's still daylight, I want you to get this done," Cherry's boss lady persona was on full force today.

"Consider it done," Buster went to work filling the buckets with cherries and moving them back to the cart. When he'd get there, Cherry would help dump them. When the cart was full, they threw the tarp over it.

"Alright. What do you need help with next?" Buster asked.

"I need you run into Dodge Junction and pick up a few things for baking," Cherry handed him a list and some bits to pay for the items.

He looked at the list, which said:
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

"Alright, I'll head on over to the general store and grab these. I'll be back soon," Buster turned to leave.

Cherry stopped him and gave her saddle bag to him, "Hang on, you're gonna need this."

"Thank ya. I'll see ya when I get back," Buster started making the trek toward Dodge Junction.

He made it into town and stepped into the store. He hadn't been in here yet. Other than the saloon and the ranch, he hadn't fully explored Dodge Junction like he had originally planned to. He decided he would do that after he took care of his work on the ranch.

"Howdy," the storeowner greeted him.

"How ya doin', sir?" Buster tipped his hat to him.

"I'm alright. If'n ya need help findin' anything, you let me know," the storeowner offered his assistance.

"I'll be sure to do that. Thank ya kindly," Buster tipped his hat to him.

He picked up a bag of flour and carried it to the counter. Once it was there, he marked it off the list.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

He was able to stack the regular sugar and powdered sugar and place them both on the counter. He marked them both off the list.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

Lastly, he grabbed the vanilla extract.

"I think that's everything," he said to the storeowner as he marked it off the list.
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

"Alright, your total's gonna be 10 bits," the storeowner replied.

Buster fished out 10 bits and paid for everything. He packed them into the saddlebag and walked toward the door.

"Thank ya. Have a good day," the storeowner waved to Buster.

"You too, sir. I appreciate it," Buster waved back and left the store.

When he got back outside, he had to briefly stop and let his eyes adjust to the sunlight. Once that was done, he decided he'd visit the saloon again to play some cards. It had been quite a while since the last time he visited. The Dealer greeted him when he entered.

"Buster. I was wondering when you'd come visit us again. It's good to see ya," he said.

"Yeah, it's good to see y'all too. I been mighty busy workin' at the Ranch but I was sent to the store to pick up some supplies and I got some time to play a little poker before I bring back the supplies,' Buster sat with them.

"How's work at the Ranch been?" the Dealer asked.

"It's been alright. The work ain't hard, it's just time consumin'. I've harvested cherries, sorted 'em, baked some pies and fritters, almost mended a splintered relationship with my boss and her old flame, it's been quite the adventure so far," he gave him the rundown.

"Sounds like it. I never did introduce myself and my friends last time you were here. My name's Flush. Royal Flush. This here's Dusty Trail, he paid for you to play last time," Royal patted his shoulder.

"Howdy, Dusty. I got some good news for ya, buddy. You won't have to spot me this time because I done got my own money now," Buster smiled.

"That's good to hear, Buster. It's nice to see ya again," Dusty waved.

"So you've met Dusty. This here's Buck Wild, he was here last time," the Dealer looked over at him.

Buck nodded at Buster and he nodded back.

"That's my good buddy, True Grit," he motioned to him.

He grunted and tipped his hat to Buster. Buster nodded.

"This is Deep Pockets. He's the teller over at the bank but you'll see him here with us quite a bit," Royal said.

"That's right. If you're lookin' to open up an account, let me know and I'll be glad to get ya started on that," Deep Pockets offered his services.

"I'll keep ya posted on that. I might need to do that later on," Buster didn't trust banks but remained cordial.

"Two more friends I'd like to introduce to ya. Sittin' to your left is Full Steam, he's an engineer. Drives trains all over Equestria. You've been fortunate to see him out of that train more than once. He's almost always travelin'," Royal joked.

"Last and most certainly not the least, you got my pal sittin' to your right, Quiet Grave. He's got the unfortunate task of undertaking at the cemetery as well as groundskeeping. Don't let that scare you away from talkin' to him though, he really is a nice guy," Royal Flush finished introducing the other ponies at the table.

Quiet Grave's eyes met Buster's and a chill ran down his spine, "Well, uh... I'm glad to have formally met all of you. I'm not the best with names but I'll try to remember. Deal me in next hand and I'll play with y'all for a bit. I'll probably be able to stay a couple rounds before I have to take these supplies back to Cherry Hill."

"You got it," Royal Flush focused his attention back to the table.

The pot was 30 bits. Dusty Trail, Buck Wild, and True Grit had already folded when Buster got there. This left Full Steam, Deep Pockets, and Quiet Grave playing to win.

The King of Clubs, Three of Hearts, and Six of Hearts laid face up on the table. The three remaining players closely guarded their hands. Deep Pockets betted 4 more bits, raising the pot to 34 bits. Quiet Grave called 4 making it 38. Full Steam folded. Royal Flush laid the next card on the table face up which was the Seven of Diamonds. Deep Pockets folded. Quiet Grave revealed his hand, which was a Queen of Diamonds and a Six of Clubs. That Six along with the Six of Hearts on the table meant he had a Pair of Sixes.

"Alright, Quiet, looks like you win this round," Royal Flush took back all the cards and shuffled them. Quiet collected the 34 bits.

Royal Flush passed two cards face down to everypony at the table. Big Blind was Full Steam and Small Blind was Buster. Full Steam placed 4 bits on the table and Buster placed 2. This started the pot at 6 bits. Everypony called 4 raising the pot to 34 once again.

Royal Flush laid the first three cards face up on the table. They were the Three of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, and Six of Diamonds. Everypony checked and the pot remained at 34 bits. The next card was revealed, which was the 5 of Spades. Full Steam betted 4 raising the pot to 38 bits. Buck folded. Dusty and Buster both called 4 raising the pot to 46 bits. True Grit folded. Quiet Grave called 4 and the pot had reached 50. This caused Deep Pockets to fold.

Buster, Full Steam, Quiet Grave, and Dusty Trail were left to play for the win. The final card was revealed, the Seven of Diamonds. Full Steam checked after the most recent call. Dusty checked as well. Quiet folded. Buster bet 8 raising the pot to 58 bits. Full Steam raised to 12 which increased the pot to 70 bits. Dusty folded.

"Take it easy, fellas, the pot's starting to get a little high," Royal warned.

"It's all part of the game. Don't worry about it," Full Steam dismissed.

"Exactly," Buster agreed, raising to 20 and making the pot 90 bits.

"Alright, time for you both to reveal your hands," Royal Flush called off the bets.

The five cards on the table were the Three of Clubs, Two of Diamonds, Six of Diamonds, Five of Spades, and the Seven of Diamonds.

Buster revealed his hand. He had the Four of Hearts and the Two of Spades. His hand was Straight to the Seven, because the cards counted from two to seven.

Full Steam revealed his as well. He had the Three of Diamonds and the Four of Diamonds. Full steam won because his Three was higher than Buster's Two. He collected the 90 bits.

"Well played, I thought for sure I'd won that," Buster couldn't help but laugh.

Full Steam cracked a smile, "Much obliged."

"What do y'all think? Got time for another round?" Royal Flush asked.

True Grit got up from the table, "I have to go now. I'll see y'all next time we meet up here."

They waved goodbye to him. Deep Pockets saw that as an excuse to go back to the bank so he left as well.

"Where's he goin'?" Buster whispered to Royal.

"Don't mind him, he's just scared to lose," he chuckled.

"I believe it," Buster nodded.

"So who's staying and who's going? True Grit and Deep Pockets have called it a day," the dealer asked.

"I think I'm gonna mosey on home. Planned on cookin' tonight and I need to pick up a few things. I'll see y'all later," Buck got up and left.

The others remained seated. Royal Flush shuffled his cards and passed out the new hands. Dusty was Big Blind and Full Steam was Small Blind. They started the pot out at 6 bits. Quiet, Buster, and Full Steam each called, raising the pot to 18 bits. Royal Flush revealed the first three cards. They were the Ace of Spades, the Two of Hearts, and the Four of Diamonds. Dusty betted 4 bits, raising the pot to 22 bits. Quiet folded. Buster and Full Steam checked. The next card was revealed, the Four of Clubs. Dusty and Buster checked. Full Steam betted 4 and the pot was up to 26 bits. Dusty and Buster each called raising the pot to 34 bits. Royal revealed the last card, the Queen of Clubs. Full Steam betted 4 again and the pot was 38 bits. Dusty called and the pot stopped at 42 bits. Buster folded.

"Alright, time to reveal your hands," Royal said.

The five cards on the table were the Ace of Spades, Two of Hearts, Four of Diamonds, Four of Clubs, and Queen of Clubs. Full Steam revealed his hand first. He had the Queen of Hearts and the Seven of Hearts. His hand was Two Pair, Queens and Fours.

"Not bad. Now for your hand, Dusty," Royal turned to him.

Dusty revealed his hand. He had the Five of Spades and the Ace of Clubs. Dusty won with a hand of Two Pair, Aces and Fours. He collected the 42 bits.

All the cards were passed back to Royal and he shuffled again, "Y'all still playing?"

They nodded.

"Alright, here we go again," Royal passed out new cards.

Quiet Grave was Big Blind and Dusty Trail was Small Blind so they continued the tradition of starting the pot at 6 bits. Buster, Full Steam, and Dusty each called 4 raising the pot to 18 bits. Royal placed the first three cards on the table. they were the Six of Spades, the Eight of Diamonds, and the Nine of Spades. Quiet immediately folded. The others checked, the pot remained at 18 bits, and Royal placed the fourth card on the table, the Ten of Spades. Buster bet 8 and raised the pot to 26 bits. The other two called 8 apiece and pot was now 42 bits. The last card was placed on the table, the Five of Spades. Buster bet 8 again and the pot was up to 50 bits. Full Steam called and it raised to 58 bits. Dusty bet 12 and then Buster bet 20 so it went from 58 to 70 to 90 bits. The pot was at 90 bits. Full Steam called and the pot was at 102. Dusty bet 24 and Buster bet 32. The pot was at 158, the highest pot of the day so far.

"158 bits is a lot, are y'all sure y'all wanna keep doing this?" Royal raised an eyebrow.

The others remained quiet, eyes fixed on the pile of bits that laid on the table. Full Steam called and the pot stopped at 178 bits.

"Time to reveal your hands," Royal looked at each one. The five cards on the table were the Six of Spades, the Eight of Diamonds, the Nine of Spades, the Ten of Spades, and the Five of Spades.

Buster revealed his hand, he had the Seven of Spades and the Queen of Hearts. His hand was a Straight to the Ten.

"Not bad. Full Steam?" Royal motioned for him to reveal his cards.

Full Steam's hand was the Ace of Hearts and the Jack of Spades. His hand was a Flush, Jack High.

"Alright, Buster looks like your hand's been beat. All that's left is Dusty's," Royal waited.

Dusty's hand was the Ace of Spades and the Ten of Hearts. His hand was a Flush, Ace High. Dusty won again and he collected the massive pot of 178 bits.

They passed the cards back to Royal Flush.

"Are y'all still playing?" Royal asked.

The others nodded.

"Alright then," Royal dished out new hands.

"This will probably be my last one. I need to get these supplies back to the Ranch," Buster said.

"That's fine. It's been good having you back with us, Buster," Royal replied.

Buster was Big Blind so he had to place 4 bits on the table. Quiet Grave was Small Blind so he had to place 2. As per usual, the pot started at 6 bits. Full Steam, Dusty, and Quiet called raising the pot to 18. Royal laid the first three cards face up on the table. They were the Ace of Clubs, the Nine of Hearts, and the Seven of Hearts. Buster bet 4 and Full Steam folded. Dusty called making the pot 26 bits. The fourth card was revealed, the Ace of Diamonds. Quiet folded. Buster bet 8 and raised the pot to 34 bits. Dusty called and made it 42 bits. The last card was placed on the table, the Six of Diamonds. Buster bet 8 again and made the pot 50 bits. Dusty called one last time and the pot stopped at 58 bits.

Royal breathed a sigh relief, "Glad the pots chilled out. Them high pots were reminding me of Las Pegasus, I was a little worried. Let's see them hands."

The five cards on the table were the Ace of Clubs, the Nine of Hearts, the Seven of Hearts, the Ace of Diamonds, and the Six of Diamonds. Dusty revealed his hand. He had the Two of Diamonds and the Four of Hearts. It didn't match anything. His hand was the one provided by the pot. Pair of Aces, Nine kicker.

Buster revealed his hand. He had the Nine of Clubs an the Queen of Spades. He won with a Two Pair, Aces and Nine. Buster collected the 58 bits and got up from the table.

"It was mighty good playin' poker with y'all again but I need to get back over to Cherry Hill. Boss lady's probably gonna be annoyed with me for getting sidetracked," he dropped the bits in the bag with the baking goods he bought.

"Dang, I saw the Pair of Aces in the pot and thought I might win for the third time in a row," Dusty laughed.

"Yeah, my intention was to stay til I won. Took a lil bit longer than I woulda liked but it's alright," Buster waved goodbye and left the saloon.

"Songbird!" he heard Cherry call his name. He looked and saw her leaning against the wall by the saloon's swinging doors.

"Howdy, Cherry," Buster tipped his hat to her.

"Had a feelin' you was hangin' 'round there when you didn't come back with what I asked for," she teased.

"Don't worry, I picked all that up before I went to play poker," he gave her the bag.

"Let's see. Flour, sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Yep, that's exactly what I asked you to get. I fully expected you to forget," Cherry laughed.

"I took care of the task you assigned me with first, you know you can count on me. Better yet, since I made ya wait, you can keep the 58 bits I won in there. Consider it compensation for makin' ya wait all day," Buster nodded toward the bag.

"I reckon that's a fair trade. Let's head on back," Cherry chuckled and turn to lead the way back to Cherry Hill.

Buster followed. He was glad he got to meet his friends again. It had been too long. He held out hope that he could meet up with them more often. They made it back just before dark and Buster asked Cherry, "Is there anything you need me to get done around here while there's still a lil bit of daylight?"

She thought for a moment, "No, we can worry about bakin' goods another time. We ain't on nopony's time schedule but our own."

"Alright. Think I'm gonna get some rest then," Buster trotted toward his room.

"Have a good night, Songbird," Cherry went up toward her room.

"You too, Cherry" he called back.

END OF CHAPTER 5!